Sun roof
Writ in water
Ford concept vehicle offers improved solar panel efficiency
Printing invention allows paper to be reused up to 50 times
solar panels are well positioned under the concentrating lens. The C-Max Solar Energi has a maximum range of 620 miles – the same as the grid-charged C-MAX Energi model that the solar concept is based on – including up to 21 electric-only miles, which Ford claims should ‘power up to 75% of all trips made by an average driver in a solar hybrid vehicle’. Also, like its predecessor, the vehicle will sport a standard charging port, allowing drivers to top up the car’s batteries directly from the electric grid. The annual reduction in greenhouse gas release through use of the solar-charging feature should equal around 4 tonnes, according to Ford, which is equivalent to the emissions produced by an average US household over four months. What is still unclear, however, is how practical the stand alone charge unit will be, especially as it requires a parking footprint larger than the vehicle alone. Hopefully these questions will be addressed when Ford begins real-world testing of the prototype. Thomas Bräunl, an electromobility expert from the University of Western
Anyone who’s balked at the sight of bags of wasted office paper or cursed the high price of ink cartridges will appreciate a new Chinese printing invention that uses water instead of ink, allowing a single sheet of paper to be reused up to 50 times. The paper is coated with a hydrochromic ‘switchable’ dye, which colours when it becomes moist. The technology works with standard inkjet printers: ink cartridges are simply replaced with water-filled ones. Print disappears after 22 hours, and the paper can then be reused. The technology could dramatically reduce waste and deforestation, says Dr Sean Xiao-An Zhang, who led the Jilin University scientific team. “Around 40% of office prints are single-use. This technology will help those who prefer to read on hard copy once and discard, and could dramatically reduce waste from daily newspapers.” With the paper industry responsible for 35% of deforestation, slashing wastage from daily newspapers would be an environmental coup. But is 22 hours really
Australia, also has reservations about the concept, and remains sceptical about its potential, given the limited information available to date. “According to Ford, the car can only do 21 miles electrically in the first place … so this makes the car more of a mild hybrid than a real plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.” However, he adds, Ford’s claim to have developed an eight-fold improvement in solar panel efficiency would – if true – “revolutionise electric vehicles and the whole solar photovoltaic industry”. – Ian Randall Bright idea: the Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Cincept
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Fancy finding out how community energy could benefit your local area? Then join us at Community Energy Fortnight! The Community Energy Fortnight runs from 13th – 28th September 2014 right across the UK. From tours of hydro plants or wind turbine sites, to community heat workshops, there’s bound to be an event that suits your interests. There will also be advice on the technicalities of making your community energy vision a reality.
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Visit ukcec.org for details of events near you.
Photo: moodboard
Photos: Ford C-MAX; antikainen/iStock/Thinkstock
presence of compounds in the wastewater that can bond chemically to the active surface of the catalyst. Or a high viscosity of the treated wastewater could hamper the motion of the micromotors.” This isn’t the only water pollutant cleansing solution to emerge recently. Last autumn, for example, there were reports that a scientist from the National Taiwan University had developed a technique that used zinc oxide from old CD cases. But the micromotors solution could be more versatile. Dr David Robbins, an Independent Consultant in water and sanitation, believes it has plenty of potential: “They probably wouldn’t be used for municipal sewage treatment”, he says, “but I can certainly see some specific commercial and industrial applications.” It seems they could even be engineered to address some pre-treatment issues – i.e. targeting a specific chemical in the water. “As the technology develops it will be interesting to see how it is used”, Dr Robbins concludes. – Will Simpson
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Micromotors could target specific chemcials
micromotors were released into polluted water containing hydrogen peroxide, the platinum inside them converted the hydrogen peroxide into oxygen bubbles. This acts as a propulsion system, while the iron within the device creates hydroxyl radicals that oxidise pollutants in the water, in effect cleaning it. The self-propelling nature of the micromotors suggests they could also be used to clean larger bodies of water than previous solutions. They leave behind a concentration of iron that is three times lower than that left by the traditional ‘Fenton’ process for cleaning pollutants from wastewater – no small advantage, given that this iron must be removed in order to meet drinking water regulations. There are drawbacks to the solution, however, as team member Samuel Sanchez from Stuttgart’s Max Planck Institute explains: “The lifetime of the micromotors is limited by the amount of the external iron layer remaining and the amount of hydrogen peroxide in the solution. Also, there could be poisoning of the platinum layer due to the
hang on to. Also, laser printers are more common in offices due to the cheaper price per print-out compared with inkjet models, which could further limit uptake of the technology. – Sue Wheat
Community Energy Fortnight: 13th – 28th September 2014
Self-powered ’micromotor’ solution could clean pollutants from industrial wastewater A German research team has come up with an ingenious way to clean polluted water: tiny self-propelled ‘micromotors’. These structures – nano-sized cores of platinum surround by iron – could be used to clean organic pollutants from industrial wastewaters that are resistant to conventional biological or chemical treatments, as well as from pipes and other hard to reach places. The team carried out its research at the Institute for Integrative Nanosciences in Dresden. It found that when the
a long enough lifetime for a print-out? The print is temperature-sensitive too: it will disappear more quickly in a hot environment. Julian Long, National Key Account Manager at Arjowiggins Graphic, an environmental paper manufacturer, also points out that: “To assess the environmental benefits, we have to look beyond paper reuse and investigate the impact on the environment of the chemicals used to treat the product.” However, Zhang insists the chemicals are non-toxic and the paper recyclable. In the office, a switch between water or ink cartridges and normal or hydrochromic paper would need to be incorporated into existing printer mechanisms. Nevertheless, the paper, although not yet in production, should only cost 5% more than regular paper, according to Zhang. While the low cost of water compared with ink would reduce overall costs to around 1% of inkjet printing. This may be the biggest obstacle – the high profits made on ink cartridges are likely to be something the printer companies will make every effort to
MMUNIT CO
Ford has unveiled a new hybrid car that can run on solar power alone. The C-MAX Solar Energi Concept, which made its first public appearance at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, features a bespoke solar panel on its roof. Ford claims the car offers the benefits of a plug-in hybrid without depending solely on the electric grid for fuel. Other companies have designed solar powered cars in the past. However, these have tended to harness the sun’s rays for low energy requirements such as air conditioning; the small surface area available on a car’s roof doesn’t allow for solar panels that can quickly charge a vehicle’s entire battery. To solve this problem, Ford’s concept includes a stand alone concentrator. It works like a giant magnifying glass, focusing the sun’s rays onto the solar panels and enabling them to harness eight times more energy. A day under the concentrator provides the same charge as four hours of mains connectivity. When parked, the car can even move backwards and forwards automatically to ensure the
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